One Warm Spot
by Tterit
Summary: Gazing in on another dimension is the chance of a lifetime, getting trapped in another dimension is a nightmare you can't escape. When Tomoyo and seven others get trapped in the Illusionary World finding their way out is no easy feat, especially not when winter strikes and the teens begin to realize that this world is not as beautiful as it seems. TomoyoxYouhei TomoyaxNagisa
1. Chapter 1: A Door

_The girl's hands shook as she reached to open the briefcase. Inside there was a teddy bear, the one she asked for so long ago. An envelope fluttered out, it said: If you find this suitcase please take it to our daughter. The briefcase was home now it had gone on a long, long journey and was finally in their daughter's hands. The girl opened the envelope to find a paper with print so small she could hardly read, it was that important paper. The thesis her dad had wrote so many years ago, the one she thought she had burnt. Things only her parents knew were written on that paper, the words told of other dimensions, other worlds far away but yet connected to their own._

* * *

"No way!" I heard a voice call out. I backtracked just a bit and peeked into the room where that all too familiar voice was coming from.

"Yeah, but you can't tell anyone," Tomoya said leaning closer to his best friend.

"Okay, I won't…oh wait but can't I at least tell Mei?" Sunohara asked.

Tomoya sighed, "I don't know you'll have to ask Kotomi."

"Ask Kotomi what?" I asked taking my first step into the room. It was rare to see them in this room since they had finally put on their play and made Nagisa's dream come true, but since hardly anyone ever came to this deserted drama club room it was probably a good place to talk about whatever little secrets they were spreading.

Sunohara jumped when he saw me. "Oh hi Tomoyo!" he said with a very guilty look on his face.

"We were just talking about going camping," Tomoya said, "We thought it'd be fun to go for a couple days this weekend. Kotomi is planning it so Sunohara just wanted to ask her if his sister could come." I'll admit Tomoya was a convincing liar but I could tell that there was much more to this story than he was saying. I began to realize that I was going to have to corner him to get the truth out of him.

"Sounds fun, can I come?" I asked him. I really had no interest in camping, but considering that Kotomi didn't seem like that type either I doubted that this secret had anything to do with the outdoors.

"Oh really, how wonderful," Tomoya said pulling a face, "Were all meeting here tomorrow, have your things ready."

"Seriously? You're still going to keep this going? You'd really let me trespass here tomorrow with my sleeping bag walking all around here looking for you guys like a fool? I know you aren't really camping," I replied glaring at him.

"Maybe we are, maybe we aren't, how's it any of your business?" Sunohara asked taking a step closer to me.

He was basically asking for it so I did what was expected of me and kicked him into one of the empty boxes lying on the ground. "So, Tomoya, tell me what you're really doing. I won't trouble you, I'm just curious."

Tomoya sighed and leaned closer to me. I could feel his breath on my ear, it felt warm and nice. I still liked him, but I didn't have a chance. None of us really ever had a chance, he only seemed to have eyes for Nagisa since the beginning and now they were officially dating. It was sad really, Tomoya had broken a lot of hearts without even realizing it. He was a bit…ignorant.

"Kotomi's parents were scientist and a briefcase with one of their important papers in it was just found, the information on this paper made it so that scientists are now able to gaze into other dimensions. Since Kotomi's parents were the ones who came up with such amazing things they're letting her go to one of their labs and look into another world and she's letting a bunch of us go with her," he whispered.

"Wow, that sounds amazing!" I couldn't admit that I was hurt that no one thought to invite me, or that I was even more hurt that they were all trying so hard to hide it from me. It must not be personal, maybe since it's just so amazing they were trying to keep it a secret and they were just being careful so that, that secret wouldn't fall into the wrong hands.

"Yeah it does!" Sunohara said as he brushed dirt of himself, "It's definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity."

He was just rubbing it in my face now and I really wanted to kick him, but I couldn't let him see that he was actually getting to me. "Sure sounds like it," I replied. I was trying very hard to sound cheery.

"It's okay if you want to go, Tomoyo, I mean who wouldn't? I just didn't want to tell you because it really isn't my place to do so, but I'm sure if you ask Kotomi she'd let you go," Tomoya said with a warm smile.

"Really?" I asked still trying to sound casual about the whole thing.

"Sure, I can take you to her house now if you want," Tomoya replied.

"Okay," I said with a smile. I knew I shouldn't let myself love him, but I just couldn't stop it. He was so warm and kind I just wanted to crumble into a million pieces every time he smiled at me. I had to stop now though, I had to move on. He was already taken and that was that. There had to be someone out there for me, someone else I could love, someone who'd love me back.

The three of us walked all the way to Kotomi's house, we didn't talk much because there wasn't much to talk about. Tomoya ringed her doorbell and she answered fairly quickly. "Hello, Tomoya!" she said with a warm smile on her face. Kotomi had liked Tomoya too, and just like me she hadn't even stood a chance.

"Hi Kotomi, I came to ask you if two more people could go to the lab with us tomorrow," Tomoya said.

"Sure!" Kotomi replied. "Who are they?"

"Sunohara's little sister, and Tomoyo," Tomoya answered as he gestured towards me.

Kotomi smiled, "Thank you for wanting to go with us, Tomoyo, this will surely be an incredible experience for us all." I didn't really know what to say so I just smiled and nodded. Kotomi was very, very nice. I hadn't expected her to accept me so easily but she was acting like she was really glad that I was going and it felt nice. "Well I'll see you all tomorrow! Remember to be here at 4pm," she continued.

Tomoya nodded, "See you tomorrow then."

The wind began to pick up and blow my hair around my face. It scattered fallen leaves and dead grass around the garden. The sun was still shining but the wind made it seem almost like a storm was coming. My heart ached and I wasn't sure why. I just felt certain that tomorrow was going to change things for each of us.

* * *

I had many duties as the student council president and I had been very busy for a long time so it was nice to finally be able to take a day off to spend with my friends. I'll admit that when I showed up at Kotomi's home the next day I did feel like a bit of an outsider though. Kyou, Ryou, Kotomi, Nagisa, and Tomoya were all laughing about some inside joke I had no part in and Sunohara was busy talking to his little sister who everyone but me seemed to know. At first no one seemed to notice me until Kotomi saw me and said, "Hi Tomoyo!"

"Hi Kotomi," I replied.

After that Kyou began telling Kotomi something about retorts and I was alone again. "Hello!" I heard someone say.

I looked up to see Sunohara's sister walking closer to me. She was a cute girl with blue hair and pigtails, the kind of girl who looks accepting and approachable, not very much like her older brother. "Hi!" I replied.

"Mei, don't talk to her!" Sunohara called, walking closer to us.

"Why not?" Mei asked looking up at her brother.

"Because she's mean," Sunohara answered.

"Really Sunohara? Do you want me to show you just how mean I can be?" I asked forming my hand into a fist.

Mei laughed and Sunohara just rolled his eyes. "I'd like to see you try," he mumbled.

"Really? Because you've seen me try before and I'm pretty sure that you couldn't see anything else after that," I said with a smirk. Mei kept laughing and Sunohara glared at me, clearly annoyed that I was making him sound like such a loser in front of his little sister.

"Well then, should we get going?" I heard Kotomi call.

"Yeah! I can't wait!" Kyou cheered, "I'm so glad that you're letting us go with you! I can't believe someone with such amazing privileges is actually my friend."

"I thought you said you wouldn't be friends with her just because she asked you to be," Tomoya interrupted.

"Yes, but now I'm friends with her because I've gotten to know her and she is kind," Kyou replied.

With that the eight of us set off. The lab didn't really take that long to get to but once we reached it we all had to verify our identity and guards came to check our bags and make sure we didn't have any weapons on us. Something about this high level of security made it seem all the more exciting. This place definitely had something to hide and I was one of the few people to be let in on the secret. When were finally let inside they led us to a nearly empty room. The walls were white and in the center there was a door, the door didn't lead anywhere, it was simply there, attached to the ceiling and attached the ground but behind it there was just more of the same room.

"Is everyone ready?" a man in a lab coat asked.

"Yes," we all whispered. We were far too excited to say anything else.

"Kotomi this was all possible because of your parents, so we thank you. Here is just one of the many worlds waiting to be discovered," the man whispered. "Kotomi, would you like to do the honor of opening the door?" he asked.

Kotomi nodded and placed her shaking hand on the shiny doorknob. She turned it, pulled the door, and stumbled backwards. Behind the door was a field of lush green grass. Lights floated in the air with no rhyme or reason, just beautiful yellow lights that obviously belonged to a world other than our own. It was truly amazing, like nothing I had ever seen, and like nothing I would ever see again. We were all speechless, but the silence was broken by a sudden high pitched scream.

"Tomoya what are you doing!?" Nagisa screeched.

I looked up to see Tomoya standing on the other side on the doorway. He looked confused as though he was in a daze and then suddenly the lights in the other world became all I could see and then everything went black.

* * *

**This is taking place right after the end of the first season, after Tomoya tells Nagisa that he likes her, incase you were wondering.**

**Thank you so much for reading and please review! **


	2. Chapter 2: A Window

_There were eight of them. They never should have been in this world. They did not belong in this world. This was a lonely and sad world. This was a world that had ended, no one was born here and even time itself did not exist. This world was never meant to be a lively one, this world was not used to this many people. This world wanted them gone._

* * *

I woke up to a field of soft, lush grass. Lights danced in the air above me and the world smelled pure and clean. I felt like I was in a dream. At first I didn't know where I was but then I saw Kotomi lying at my feet and I remembered what had just happened. This dimension had pulled us in. It had forced all of us through the door and now that door was gone. I didn't know why it had pulled us in or how we would get out but I was worried. Tomoya had walked in by himself though, why had he done that? I was mad at him, he'd thrown everything off and now we were trapped. This world really was beautiful though, even more so from the inside. I nudged Kotomi and she quickly flicked her eyes open.

"What happened?" she asked, holding her head in her hands.

"We were sucked into this world," I whispered. I looked around for the others but they were all asleep, except for Tomoya who was nowhere to be found. I stood up, walked over to Nagisa and tapped on her back. She slowly sat up and began to rub at her eyes.

"Where's Tomoya?" she asked.

"I don't know, he wandered off," I replied as I helped her to her feet.

"Oh no, I hope he's okay…" she whispered, "I think there's something wrong with him, why did he just walk through the door without a second thought? He isn't that careless…"

I nodded, "Yeah, I think he was in some sort of trance or something." Everyone else was starting to wake up, I could hear Kyou and Ryou whispering about something and I could hear Mei trying to wake Sunohara up. "I think we should start looking for him," I whispered. She nodded and bit her lip as though she were holding back tears, she was really worried. "It's going to be okay, he couldn't have gotten that far," I continued.

"So are we going to look for Tomoya?" Kyou interrupted, walking closer to us. Nagisa and I nodded. "Great, let's start with that house over there," Kyou replied pointing.

I followed her finger to see a tiny home in the distance. There was a large window and I could just make out a figure starring back at us, but it was too far away to tell if that figure was Tomoya or not. "Okay," Nagisa whispered.

We began walking through the grass and the mysterious lights with that distant house as our beacon. It took a lot of walking but we finally got close enough to clearly see the person standing in front of the window, it wasn't Tomoya. It was a girl, she looked about our age and she kind of resembled Nagisa in a way. Even though the figure wasn't Tomoya we kept walking to the house because we had nowhere else to walk. When we reached the door Sunohara was the one to knock. The girl opened it for us and then stepped back. Her mouth was open and she looked shocked and depressed. I could see tear stains on her cheeks. "Who are you?" she asked us.

"Hello, my name is Kyou Fujibayashi, what is your name?" Kyou asked.

The girl shook her head in confusion, "I don't have one."

"What?" Kyou asked looking a bit irritated.

"Can you fix him?" the girl asked turning around.

"No," a boy said. I looked past the girl to see that, that boy was indeed Tomoya Okazaki. He was sitting there holding a toy robot in his hand and shaking its arms around, it was a very bizarre sight.

"But you have to!" the girl cried as more tears ran down her cheeks.

"Sorry to interrupt whatever is going on here, but um…what's going on here?!" Sunohara asked.

"The robot is broken," Tomoya replied.

"It looks fine to me," Sunohara said as he walked closer to Tomoya.

"No, he isn't moving," Tomoya said shaking his head.

"You mean it's an actual robot that can move on its on and stuff?" Sunohara asked wide eyed.

"That's what the girl said," Tomoya replied.

"No way! This dimension has an actual robot, that's amazing!" Sunohara beamed as he took the robot from Tomoya and began inspecting it.

"When did it stop working?" Tomoya asked the girl.

"When all of you came," the girl whispered. "You shouldn't be in this world, nothing can be born in this world, this is a world that has ended," she continued.

I think those words struck a match in all of us. They were so familiar it was bewitching. This girl was living alone in a world that had ended with nothing but a robot she had built from loose scraps. We had all seen the play; we had all heard the words Nagisa said onstage.

"Whoa," Ryou whispered.

"A girl living alone in a world that has ended? It was never a book Nagisa! It's true!" Tomoya shouted.

"How…how did she know about all this?" Kyou asked as she turned to face Nagisa.

Nagisa looked pale, like she was going to faint. "I don't know," she whispered.

"It felt familiar to me too, I think that…we're connected to this world somehow," Tomoya said.

"So is that why you fell into a weird trance and jumped through the door?" Kyou asked angrily.

Tomoya blushed, "That's not what happened…I had to come here, it was nearly calling me…"

"Or you've just lost your mind, you know, could be either," Sunohara said.

Tomoya shoved Sunohara and Sunohara tossed the robot at Tomoya who then caught it. "You know this girl looks a lot like Nagisa, maybe Nagisa knew about this world because this girl is really her from an alternate dimension!" Sunohara said sounding excited.

The girl shook her head, "No, I don't think that we could both be in this world together if that were the case."

Nagisa nodded, "Yeah."

"Can I see the robot?" I asked Tomoya.

"Sure," Tomoya said as he walked over and handed it to me.

It was lighter than it looked and it was colder than it looked. It was pretty well built considering that this girl did it all by herself. "I think that we should focus on finding a way out of here rather than unlocking the mysteries of the universe," Kyou said.

"She might be right," Ryou added.

"Okay, so do you know a way out of here?" Kotomi asked the girl.

She shook her head, "I don't think I'd be here if I did. I wouldn't stay in such a lonely world."

"So in other words there's no way out?" Kyou asked looking defeated.

"Perhaps there is, in a place far away from here maybe," the girl answered.

"Well then we should get walking!" Kyou ordered.

"Wait!" the girl called, "Please don't leave me!"

"Then come with us, geez," Kyou mumbled.

So then the nine of us started walking. The girl had made Tomoya carry the robot so that it wouldn't be alone when it woke up. We walked for a long time each of us very troubled by this world and its one occupant. This nameless girl was certainly mysterious and the fact that the drama club had put on a play about her life just one week before was even more mysterious.

"Look at all this junk," I whispered.

"You may be able to build a way out of this world with that junk, perhaps you could fly back to your world," the girl whispered back.

"Could we really?" Ryou asked.

"I don't know," the girl replied.

"What should we call you if you don't have a name?" Mei asked the girl.

"It does not matter, call me what you'd like," the girl replied with a smile.

"Can I call you...Onee-chan?" Mei asked her.

The girl smiled and nodded. "Don't get too familiar with her, Mei, I think she's dangerous," Sunohara whispered.

We kept walking for awhile longer but soon our bodies were too sore and tired to keep going and we had to turn back. Night came to the world so we went inside the house to sleep. There wasn't very much space for all of us and sleeping on the hard ground wasn't very comfortable but we made due. None of us were near brave enough to sleep outside.

We were all sleeping very close to each other and I was bottled up between Nagisa and Kotomi. Mei was sleeping next to Sunohara and I thought the way she rested her head on his chest was actually pretty cute. I couldn't help but wonder how many nights we'd need to sleep like this. How many days would we wander this world searching for an exit? Two more days? The rest of our lives?

* * *

I didn't sleep much that night and when I finally fell asleep everyone else was waking up. They let me sleep though so I woke up to an empty house with no one but the broken robot and Mei left there. "What are you still doing here?" I asked her as I rubbed sleep out of my eyes.

"My body is still sore from yesterday so I decided to stay here today," she replied.

"Yeah, my body is sore too," I said.

"I think that they're trying to build something, a helicopter I think," she whispered.

"That seems pointless; I think the only way to get out of here is for the door to open again," I told her.

"Probably so, but in that case they'll open it soon for us, I'm sure they're worried about us," she replied.

"Yeah," I said with a smile, "I'm sure they are." I liked this girl, she was very cute.

"I'm sorry, but I can't remember your name," Mei whispered.

"It's Tomoyo, and its okay I don't think I told you in the first place," I replied. I brushed my fingers through my hair and began to adjust my clothing as I stood up off the ground.

"We don't need to eat in this world," Mei said.

"Oh yeah, you're right…" I wasn't hungry at all, by this time I'd normally be starving.

"Guess what, Mei, the door is back!" Sunohara called as he threw the door to the house open.

"Really!?" Mei beamed as she jumped up and raced out the door after her brother. I quickly followed them and with how fast we were running it didn't take all that long to reach the door. It was really there. It looked so odd floating there among the grass and the lights. It looked very misplaced in this world. Everyone was gathered around the door. Kyou was yelling at the top of her lungs and Ryou was sobbing as were Nagisa and Kotomi.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"We can't get through," Tomoya answered as he pushed on the door.

The door was open but there was something preventing him from walking through it. "From this side it's just a window," Kyou whispered, "A USELESS WINDOW!"

Mei burst into tears and Sunohara looked dumbfounded. I felt like crying too, but I didn't. "There has to be some way out of here, maybe this isn't it, but there is some way!" I said.

I looked through the window/door and saw that man who had let us in here, that man with the lab coat. He was shrugging and crying. "I can't do anything else, I can't get them out," he was saying to someone.

"Then go in yourself and pull them out!" someone screamed.

"Mom?" Ryou asked tilting her head.

"Mom!" Kyou screamed. But their mother who stood just on the other side of that door could not hear them and at that very second it began to feel like all hope truly was lost.

* * *

**Thank you so much for reading and please review! **


	3. Chapter 3: A Helicopter

_If their presence was not welcomed in this world, then why were they pulled into this world? Was it because I wished for them to be? Was it my fault that they were trapped in this world? Was I lonelier than I realized? Did I think that the robot and I needed more company? The robot it broken now and it might be all my fault._

* * *

Kyou and Ryou were still in tears as we walked back to the house. Basically everyone was still in tears, Tomoya, Sunohara, and I had broken into tears when the door disappeared. After the man realized he couldn't get us out, I guess he just closed the door and now it was gone, gone forever. The only person not crying was that girl, that girl and her stupid lifeless robot she cared so much about.

That girl finally had real company and all she seemed to care about was that robot, it was really aggravating. What was even more aggravating was watching Tomoya comfort Nagisa. He had his arm around her back and was whispering sweet nothings to her. I felt a bit alone in the world, everyone seemed to have a shoulder to cry on. Kyou and Ryou were sobbing together, Nagisa and Tomoya were leaning into each other, Kotomi was (oddly enough) crying on the girl's shoulder, and Mei was hugging Sunohara. I was alone, crying by myself and thinking about how I was the only one crying by myself made me cry harder.

Suddenly I felt arms around my waist and I looked behind my back to see Mei giving me a hug. I really liked this girl. I bent down and hugged her back and soon she had dragged Sunohara into the hug and we all just crouched there for a second hugging. It was an odd thing to find myself hugging Sunohara but at that point I didn't care who I was hugging, it just felt nice to be hugged. This world could really make a person feel lonely. Even with all of these people around I had still found a way to feel alone.

When we made it back into the house we were all emotionally exhausted. There wouldn't be anymore searching for an exit until we stopped feeling like there wasn't one.

"You should build something, it may make you feel a bit more hopeful if you have a machine to build," the girl told us.

So that's what we did. All of us started collecting junk and began building that helicopter I had heard rumors of. We worked hard because it really did take our minds off of things. As we pieced scraps of junk together night fell over this world once again. We went back inside the house feeling tired and defeated. Would this makeshift machine ever really fly?

I had a hard time going to sleep again. All I could do was stare up at the ceiling and wonder. Wonder about this world, wonder about the other. I tossed and turned in my sleep and when I turned to face the window I saw a figure standing outside, Sunohara. I rubbed my eyes and quietly stood up. I carefully made my way to the door, making sure not to step on anyone. When I stepped outside the night air felt cold on my skin and it gave me goosebumps. I walked closer to Sunohara but he didn't notice me.

"What are you doing out here?" I asked him.

He turned around, startled. "Nothing much," he replied, starring off into the distance.

I followed his gaze to the lights that were still glowing even now. "They look pretty like this," I whispered.

He nodded, "How much longer do you think we'll be stuck here?"

I shrugged, "I don't know, it isn't looking good though."

"Yeah."

We stood there like that for hours but neither of us said a word because we were both too deep in thought. Eventually I lied down in the grass, closed my eyes, and drifted to sleep. When I woke up Sunohara was gone. I looked around for him a bit and then realized he must have gone inside so that's where I went. Sure enough he was there talking to Mei about something. I considered him lucky; he had his sister here with him. Even if we were stuck here for the rest of our lives he would still always have his sister, but I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever get to see my brother again.

Eventually Kotomi suggested that we start working on the helicopter again so we all followed her lead outside. It was boring work that seemed to last an eternity. I was pretty much all thought out so there wasn't that much for it to take my mind off. I didn't want to build the helicopter that would never fly. I didn't understand why everyone else looked so determined. The helicopter looked terrible, it was nothing but a bunch of parts we had attached together any way possible, couldn't they tell it was a lost cause?

We worked all day. I was so tired by the time night came that I thought I'd fall asleep as soon as I lay down, but fate was cruel and I still couldn't sleep. I was still awake when Sunohara got up; apparently this world had him under the same sleepless curse as me. I followed him outside and I followed him as he went towards the mysterious lights. There where the grass was softest and the lights shined the brightest he laid down. I don't know why I followed him and I don't know why I watched him sleep but for some reason I felt like I had to. I didn't feel a connection to this world like Tomoya and Nagisa but at that second I felt like I was connected to Sunohara. I watched him sleep for awhile and then I lay down too.

This time when I woke up Sunohara was still there, sleeping in the grass and the lights. I felt the urge to wake him up but instead I let him sleep. Tomoya was already out there working on the helicopter. "Good morning," I said as I joined him in looking for scraps.

"Good morning," he replied, smiling at me.

"Did you sleep outside all night?" he asked me.

I blushed, "Yeah the floor is too hard inside."

"Does Sunohara think so too?" Tomoya asked looking past me at his best friend.

"How should I know?" I mumbled.

"I don't know, I just thought that maybe you talked to him last night since you both slept out here," Tomoya replied as he reached down to grab a piece of junk. I was reaching for the same one and our hands touched. I must have blushed even though I told myself not to; even though I told myself I was over him.

He let me have the junk as though it was some sort of gift or trophy, but I'd rather he'd just taken it. We worked on that helicopter long before anyone else woke up. When they finally did wake up I stopped. I had done my part of the work and I was tired and bored. I didn't know how many of these kinds of days I could take. I didn't know how many days I could stand doing this meticulous work. Tomoya kept working though, with a determination I had never seen. He was definitely better suited for this world than me. The girl even helped to build the helicopter. She set her little robot down by me and began collecting scraps with Nagisa. I began playing with that robot. I played with it like a child who had just received a new toy. "Wake up Mr. Robot," I whispered, "Wake up and show us where to go."

"Hey Tomoyo," Mei whispered as she sat down next to me. She had something in her hands some sort of sheep creature. I petted the sheep and she smiled. "Cute isn't it?"

I nodded, "Yeah, it is."

"What would you do if we had to spend the rest of our lives here?" she asked me.

The question caught me off guard. "I'd probably build myself a house out of this junk and become a sheep herder," I joked.

"No, I'm serious," she whispered.

"I don't know…what would you do?" I asked her.

"I don't know either…" she trailed off, "I guess Nagisa and Tomoya would get married and maybe even have a child. My brother would…well…I guess he'd probably get married too, with him being the only single guy in this world some one would have to get desperate enough to want to date him," she said with a laugh.

I laughed, "Yeah I guess…maybe Ryou would."

She nodded, "Yeah or maybe Kotomi."

I nodded, "Or even Kyou."

"Or you…" she whispered.

I shook my head, "NO way, even if he is the last guy in this world I think I'll stay single."

We both laughed together as we watched Sunohara and thought about what would really happen if we had to live our lives here forever. If I had to live here forever I think I could become good friends Mei. I really liked this girl.

As night once again fell over the grassy fields they stopped building the helicopter. Not because it was getting dark, but because they were done. The helicopter was built, now we could hop in and fly back home. It was a very, very tight fit to get us all into the helicopter but we managed. I was nearly hanging off, but we managed. Tomoya began pressing buttons trying to get it to fly, and to my great surprise it did fly. We took off leaving the ground behind us and hopefully this world. The helicopter didn't make it very far though, we had barely left the ground when the propellers began to fall off and the whole thing began to crumble back into the junk pile it really was. So much for wishing for it to fly.

The crash landing was harsh and painful. Though we weren't that far off the ground it was still enough to give me a few cuts and bruises. I heard someone crying and I looked up to see that it was Sunohara. He was lifting up bits of junk and sobbing. Soon he had Mei in his arms; she was bloody and unconscious, but alive. I jumped up and rushed to his side. "Is she okay?" I asked. Her forehead was gashed open and it didn't look too good.

He nodded, "For now."

I ran to the door of the house and held it open for him. I looked back just once at the wreckage of that helicopter. I hated that helicopter that had done us more harm than good. I hated that helicopter that had hurt poor sweet Mei and I hated that we had put all our hopes into it only to have them dashed.

Sunohara laid Mei on the ground and began crying again. "How can I help her when there isn't even water in this world?" he cried.

I tore off one of the sleeves of my shirt and pressed it against her forehead. "It's okay, I'm going to make sure it's okay," I whispered as I did my best to tend to her wound. The others slowly walked into the house; they asked if she was okay, they asked how they could help but I didn't want their help, I didn't want anyone's help. I just wanted Mei to get better and Sunohara to stop crying. It was unnatural to see him cry, he had never cried before not even when I beat him to a pulp but all he seemed to be doing lately was crying, of course, he probably thought the same thing about me. I too was crying as I bent over Mei. I wasn't crying because I thought the wound was all that serious, I knew it wasn't. I knew she'd be fine and Sunohara knew that too, we were both just crying from the simple fact that she had gotten hurt.

* * *

**Thank you all so much for reading this far and please review!**


	4. Chapter 4: A Snowflake

_Who are they and why did they seem so familiar? I did not know. Why did I feel a sense of sadness with them around? Shouldn't I be glad that this world was becoming the warm and happy place I had wanted to go to for so long? Why did I feel scared? Was I afraid of them or was I afraid for them?_

* * *

When I woke up the next day Mei was still asleep and so was Sunohara. I figured that they both needed rest so I ventured outside alone.

"Hello, Tomoyo," someone whispered.

I turned around to see Kotomi approaching me. Her hair blew in the gentle wind and something about her just made her seem like she had already became one with this world. She seemed almost like she was a puzzle piece that this world had been missing for far too long. The last piece of the puzzle and this world was right where she belonged.

"Good morning, Kotomi," I said, smiling at her. "Sorry if I seemed mad at everyone yesterday…I was just worried about Mei."

"Oh it's fine," she replied, mirroring my smile. "I understand."

"Thank you."

"You know," she whispered, "When I used to think of alternate dimensions this wasn't what I imagined." She paused and reached down to grab a handful of grass which she then let blow away in the wind. "I imagined a world where everyone existed, but lived slightly different lives."

I nodded, "Like a world where we all never met."

She nodded back at me, "Or a world where Tomoya was with me."

"Oh…yeah," I stuttered. Or a world where Tomoya was with_**me**__. _

"But what I really wanted more than anything was to gaze into a world where my parents were still alive." She smiled at me and brushed her hair behind her face. "I know it sounds foolish but I just wanted to see a world where I was still that happy."

I shook my head, "No, Kotomi, I don't think that sounds foolish at all."

* * *

Mei slept a lot that day and it was clear that every time she fell asleep it worried Sunohara.

"It's okay," I whispered, "She isn't going to die in her sleep."

He looked at me and smiled. "I know that."

"Then relax a little," I said reaching my hand out towards him to help him up from the ground. I led him out of the house and into the field of lights. "What do you think these lights mean?" I asked.

"What do you mean? That's like asking what I think the sun means," he muttered as he reached his hand up towards one of lights.

I smiled and shook my head, "No it isn't."

"So then what do you mean?" he asked me.

"I mean like…why are they here?"

"How should I know?"

"I don't know," I said with a shrug. "I wasn't asking you anyway, I was just talking to myself." I turned around and walked back inside the house because I felt embarrassed. Why did he have to ruin such a meaningful conversation?

Mei tugged at my ankle and I smiled down at her. "Finally awake?" I asked.

She nodded, "Thanks for caring about me."

I bent down next to her and put my hand against her cheek. "How could I not care about someone as cute as you?" She smiled back up at me. "And don't worry, Mei, I have a feeling that we're going to go home soon."

She nodded and said, "Yeah, me too."

Sunohara came in and sat down next to Mei. "Do you feel okay?" he asked her.

She nodded, "Yeah I think so."

"Good," he whispered. I noticed that he was glaring at me so I glared back at him. Why was he glaring at me? What had I done to him? I was the one being nice to him and talking to him! He was the one acting all snotty!

"Well then…I'll see you later, Mei," I said as I stood up and once again walked out of the house, because I obviously wasn't welcomed there. I wanted to have a one on one talk with the girl. Since we'd came I hadn't really gotten the chance to talk to her alone and I figured maybe she had something useful swimming around in that robot obsessed head of hers. "Hi!" I greeted her.

"Hello!" she replied. She was still clutching that robot and starring off into the distance. I followed her eyes towards Tomoya and Nagisa who were cuddled up next to each other and staring up at the clouds in the sky. The girl looked happy when she watched them and I thought that was odd. Every girl who'd come in contact with Tomoya had developed at least a little crush on him, so how was this girl immune?

"Do you like having us here or…do we bother you?" I asked.

She turned to me and frowned. "I like having you here, of course I do. I just…" She held the robot tighter and tilted her head to the side. "Miss him."

"I'm sure he'll wake up soon, you know if our coming was what broke him then he'll probably wake up as soon as we're gone," I replied. I was trying very hard to be patient with this girl but that stupid robot just made it very, very difficult.

"I hope so," the girl whispered with a smile, "I hope that all of you will be able to make it home soon."

I don't know what she meant by that but the way she said it made it sound almost sound like only some of us could go home. Was she going to keep us trapped in this world? Was she going to murder us? Just who was this girl and just what were her intentions? "Yeah, me too," I whispered.

Night fell but I wasn't even tired, I had gotten a lot of sleep the night before. Since I wasn't tired and the house was still so hot and stuffy I walked back outside amongst the lights. I was beginning to appreciate the nights in this world. They were beautiful and as much as I was beginning to hate this world I couldn't hate the way the lights shined among the darkness. "Do you come out here every night?" Sunohara asked as he followed me through the grass.

"Pretty much, I don't like that house," I told him.

"Yeah, me neither."

I was still a bit mad at Sunohara but I figured if he was going to act like nothing had happened I'd play along. "I don't like that girl either," I whispered.

"Really?" he asked tilting his head, "Are jealous of how beautiful she is or something?"

"Beautiful? Is that what you think?" I asked tilting my head.

"Well she's certainly prettier than you," he said with a smirk.

"Oh is she, well remember that I still kick a heck of a lot harder than her!" I shouted.

He smiled, "I was just kidding."

"So what…you think I'm prettier than her?" I asked as I took a step closer to him.

He blushed and shook his head, "I…I didn't say that, sheesh, I was just trying to be nice and not make you get all depressed thinking you're ugly or something but I guess you just had to blow it all out of proportion."

"That's rather considerate of you," I said with a small chuckle.

"Then why did you spit at me!?" he called.

"Spit at you?" I asked confused. I felt something wet drop on my nose and then I got what he meant. "Oh no it's just rain."

He shook his head as he held out his hand to catch it. "No, it's snow."

* * *

**Sorry that this chapter was kind of short but next chapter things are goin****g to really heat up…or cool down I guess.**

**Anyway thank you for reading and please review!**


	5. Chapter 5: A Sickness

_Winter still comes to this world but winters here are colder than imaginable. Some may think that this sad and lonely world couldn't get any worse but winter makes this world an empty and quiet place where your wishes can not be heard and your dreams can not be answered._

* * *

The snow fell down fast. Soon this whole world was covered in it. The snow did not lighten our spirits and it was certainly not a welcomed sight. None of us were brave enough to even go outside in it. It was so cold and we weren't dressed for it. We were all just wearing t-shirts and skirts, or shorts in the boys' case. It was hard to function in that cold, even if we were inside the house it was hard to function.

I hadn't thought life in this world could get anymore dreary but it certainly had. I couldn't even enjoy the beauty of the nights here and I certainly couldn't sleep outside. I had to sleep on that hard ground with all those people around but for some reason I was actually sleeping better than before and then I realized I was only sleeping better because all I could do was sleep. My body was so cold and tired, all of our bodies were.

Nagisa had gotten sick. If normal winters in our dimension could make her sick then it was no surprise that she could hardly move now. We were all worried about her, especially Tomoya. He tried to hide it from her but I could tell he was dying inside having to watch her health deteriorate day after day and not being able to do anything about it.

Everyone else slept a lot too and since we all figured those sleeping needed rest we didn't talk much. Even whispering seemed too loud for this quiet world so just like that days went by in silence because talking took too much effort. We were all sick and suffering but everyone seemed to be taking it worse than me, I mean I was cold and all but I didn't seem to sleep quite as much as them. Even that girl slept, she slept clutching her stupid robot like a security blanket even though its metal must have been as cold as ice.

"Nagisa are you awake?" I heard Tomoya whisper.

"Yeah," Nagisa whispered back. She sounded bad, like really bad. Would all of us really not make it home? Was our fate really to spend the rest of our lives here and would the rest of our lives really be this short?

Eventually both Nagisa and Tomoya fell back asleep and so did basically everyone else. I glanced around the room just to make sure I was the only one awake and then my eyes met Sunohara's. We hadn't gotten the opportunity to talk since that night that we first felt the snow and realized that winter was on its way. I suppose I shouldn't have felt upset about our relationship beginning to fade since before all this we didn't have a relationship and I knew once we went back home things would become normal between us again, but I still missed talking to him. I felt that our views on this world were similar we both thought it was a nightmare in the day and a dream at night. Well…not anymore, now it was a nightmare in the day and a nightmare at night too.

"Tomoyo," he mouthed at me.

"What?" I mouthed back.

He put his hand up and beckoned me to come closer to him. I rolled my eyes as I stood up and crossed over Ryou and Kyou's sleeping bodies to get to him. "What do you want?" I whispered.

"I was thinking about…going outside and looking for a way to go home, what do you think?" he asked.

Why was he asking me for advice about this? Why would I care if he went outside or not? "…I don't know, Sunohara, I don't think Mei would be very happy if you died," I said with a small laugh.

He looked at Mei who was sleeping on his shoulder. "Yeah," he replied, smiling back at me. "But if we stay here and do nothing then we'll all die anyway."

I bit my lip and nodded, "I guess I hadn't really thought about that." I looked behind my shoulder at Nagisa who really didn't stand a chance of making it through the winter. Then I looked back at Mei and I knew why Sunohara was talking to me about this. We were the only ones who could save them. We were the only ones who could still even function; we were their only hope of rescue. "Okay, I'll go with you, but I think that we should tell everyone we're leaving," I whispered.

He nodded and began poking at Mei's shoulder. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Youhei?" she whispered.

"What?" Sunohara asked her.

"What's going on?"

"Tomoyo and I are going to go look for a way to get out of here," he told her.

"What? You can't," Mei said clutching onto his arm, "Just stay, Youhei, it'll be okay." With that she fell back onto his shoulder and drifted to sleep.

"We should really hurry," Sunohara whispered as he turned his attention back to me.

I nodded and led him over the many sleeping bodies and out into the cold. It really was cold. I thought I'd die within seconds but I still kept walking. "Are you okay?" I asked as I turned back to look at Sunohara.

He nodded and rubbed at his arms, "You?"

"I'll manage," I whispered as I kept walking over the pure white snow. I looked up at the lights, they were still glowing, reflecting off the snow and making this world look beautiful yet again, but I was beginning to realize that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover.

* * *

**Uh this chapter is way too short, but the next one will hopefully be a lot longer so thanks for reading and please review!**


	6. Chapter 6: An Eternity

**If possible listen to 'The Girl's Fantasy' while you read this, it will make it a lot better.**

* * *

_I could feel my strength depleting. I wondered if I'd ever get to see that robot move again, would our 'hands' ever touch again? How much longer would I have to wait? How much longer could I wait?_

* * *

The snow kept falling even as we walked. It kept growing colder and colder and still we didn't find an escape route. All we could do was walk and walk passing over land that looked the exact same for miles to come. "Tomoyo!" Sunohara called.

"What?" I whispered.

"Slow down!" he shouted back.

"I'm not really sure how I could go any slower," I mumbled as I paused and waited for him to catch up with me. "You know, not only am I a lot stronger than you my endurance is also better.

He shook his head, "That isn't true I'm colder than you because you have those really long socks."

"That's the worst excuse I've ever heard!" I said, rolling my eyes. Something about talking made both of us feel better. Though talking was tiring it also took our minds off of how freezing we were.

"I wonder where the exit sign is," he whispered.

"What are you talking about? Already having hallucinations?" I asked, smiling.

He nodded, "Yeah sure unless your head really is a giant turnip."

I shook my head, "No actually it really is." He smiled and I smiled back at him. "I think that there might be a cave or somewhere we can stop soon so just hang in a little bit longer okay?"

"Yes sir," he whispered back.

"Ma'am! I'm still not a guy!" I called.

"Do you think that Mei has told the others where we went by now?" he asked me.

"Probably, I bet she's worried sick," I whispered as I watched my breath.

"Yeah…" We kept walking through the snow, now searching for shelter more than we were searching for an exit. "Do you think we could make a torch?" Sunohara asked.

I rolled my eyes, "No way, this isn't some treasure hunt, the snow would put it out in three seconds flat even if we got a fire started by some miracle."

"Tomoyo," he whispered. I turned around to see that had stopped walking. I watched his breath drift about in the air.

"What is it?" I asked, taking a step closer to him.

"I'm tired," he whispered.

"What are you talking about? Hurry up!" I called. I watched him sigh and take a step forward before tripping and falling down into the snow. I ran towards him and threw my arms around him in an attempt to help him back up. "Sunohara, are you alright?" I asked, panic setting into me. I put my hand on his cheek and pulled it back instantly. He felt like ice. I felt tears running down my cheek that were frozen as soon as they left my eyes.

"Tomoyo, I don't think that I can keep going," he whispered. His lips were blue. How had I not noticed that he was dying right in front of me? How had I not noticed?

"It's okay," I whispered as I pulled him into my arms. "We'll be alright, we'll just go back and tell them we couldn't find anything, okay?"

He shook his head, "No, you can tell them that. Oh and tell Mei…"

"No!" I screamed cutting him off. "Whatever you want to tell Mei you can tell her yourself!" I shouted as I picked him up and held him close to my body. "It's okay if I hurry I can make it."

"How can you carry me?" he asked, his voice growing fainter.

"Because I'm twice as strong as you remember?" I said, forcing a smile.

He smiled back at me, "Only cause' you're a guy."

I laughed and nodded, "Sure." I walked with all my power. I felt like nothing could stop me as I walked. I was so far away I couldn't even see the house but I had to make it there no matter what.

"Don't tell Mei what happened okay?" he asked me as I walked.

"What happened?" I asked as more frozen tears spilled down my cheeks.

"You know, don't tell her that I'm dead."

"Why would I tell her that, when YOU AREN'T DEAD!" I shouted.

He was shivering and I tried to hold him tighter so that some of my body heat would rub off on him but I don't think it worked. I kept walking. "You know, Sunohara, if I told Mei that you died she'd kill me, so just hang in there so that she doesn't have my head okay?" I asked in a whisper.

"That's why I said not to tell her," he said, smiling.

It was so hard to keep walking when all I wanted to do was sob. Part of me wondered why I was still walking but the other half truly believed that if I wished for it strong enough I could make back to the house. "You know you can't just not tell a person that kind of thing," I replied still forcing a smile.

"Tell her I ran away," he whispered.

"That doesn't even make any sense, just come with me and I won't have to tell her anything."

He nodded, "Okay, fine I'll pretend I'm going to live…" he paused and tried to regain his breath, "If that makes you feel better."

"Yes please," I begged.

"Okay, then I'll tell Mei that she's a good sister."

"Yes, do that, tell her that, she'll be happy," I said biting my lip and trying to hold back the water in my eyes.

"And then when we get back home we can be friends okay? I won't fight with you like before, I think your sweet," he whispered.

I smiled and nodded, "Okay, I Tomoyo Sakagami hereby swear never to kick you ever again…because I think you're nice too, let's be friends when we go back."

"Yeah…" he whispered, "Forever."

I nodded again, "Forever," I repeated.

I felt him shivering and struggling to breath in my arms. "It's okay if you don't want to talk anymore, just save your strength for when we get to the house and Mei wants to talk to you okay?"

He nodded just slightly and I let my tears go, not being able to keep them back anymore. I kept walking in silence for a bit more. I walked through the snow that was up to my knees at parts. It was so hard to walk and after awhile it started to become really difficult to carry Sunohara. I looked down at him and his eyes were closed. "You still okay, Sunohara?" I asked him. He didn't reply. "Sunohara?" I asked again. I felt him shiver and I sighed in relief. "Don't go to sleep okay? It's too cold to sleep out here wait until we get back to the house. We're almost there." In fact, we weren't almost there and I wasn't sure whether I was lying to him or myself.

"Tomoyo." He was so quiet now I could hardly hear him.

"Yes, Sunohara?" I asked as more tears fell down my cheeks.

"Make it," he paused, "Out of this world."

I nodded, "We will, all of us." I looked down at him and held him tighter. "All of us. Right Sunohara?" I felt more tears trickle down my cheeks. "Right?" I kept walking as fast as I could. "Please!?" I cried. "Tell me that it's okay! Tell me you're alright!" I screamed. His eyes were closed. I put my fingers against his freezing wrist. His pulse was gone. "Wake up! I told you not to go to sleep yet! What about Mei!? What about me!?" I fell to my knees and buried my head in his shoulder. "Forever…" I whispered, "Why was forever _so short_!?" I yelled.

Before I knew what I was doing I pressed his cold lips against mine. I had wanted to kiss him for a long time, why had I been such a fool? Why had I only gained the courage to do it now? I held him closer to me and then I lay down in the snow. This was it. I wouldn't walk anymore. I no longer had a purpose to walk and I no longer had the will. This was the end of the road. There was no escaping this world and we'd all die here anyway so I mine as well die right here…next to Sunohara. I closed my eyes, and despite having told Youhei not to, I fell asleep.

* * *

…..**Don't worry this isn't the end of the story. I'm not going to end it on this sad of note. Thank you for reading and please review!**


	7. Chapter 7: A Suicide Mission

_When I woke up someone was crying. _

"_It's okay, Mei, I'm sure that they'll come back soon," a boy whispered._

_She kept sobbing though, even though everyone told her that it would be okay she, as well as I, had felt that boy's presence escape from this world._

* * *

"Hey, she's waking up!" someone called.

What was going on? Where was I? "Tomoyo!" someone else cheered. I felt someone pull me into a hug and then my eyes finally adjusted to all the light in the room. I realized that I was in my room, in my bed.

"We were so worried about you," my brother, Takafumi, whispered.

I rubbed my eyes and nodded, "Well I'm okay…" I paused, "I guess." I was confused as that point. Why wasn't I dead? Why wasn't I in the other world? "Suno…Sunohara?" I whispered.

My brother tilted his head, "Who?"

I pushed the blankets on my bed away from me and I sat up. "Takafumi, I'll be right back!" I called as I threw the door open to my room and ran out.

"Wait! Tomoyo!" I heard my mom call.

As much as I loved my family, they'd have to wait. Just for a minute.

I raced to the dorms. Sunohara's dorm.

"Tomoyo?" I heard Misae call as I ran past her.

I ran to his doorway and turned the knob as quick as I could. "Youhei!" I screamed.

There were two people in front of me, a man and a woman, and they were giving me very odd looks. I dismissed their looks and scanned the room in front of me. There he was, he was still asleep. He was still alive. The man and woman were his parents. "Youhei!" I called again as I pushed past his parents and began shaking him.

"They said he'll wake up soon," his mom whispered, looking afraid of me.

I sighed, "But he will wake up right?"

They nodded. I felt tears roll down my cheeks once again, but this time they were tears of a completely different sort. "I'm sorry, I whispered it's just…I watched him die and I…I can't believe that it wasn't real I can't believe that forever really can be a lot longer! Forever can really be forever now!"

I doubt that they had any clue what I meant. I doubt one thing I said made sense to them I wasn't even sure it made total sense to me but it didn't matter. I was too happy to care. I sat there with his parents for a long time waiting for him to wake up. I don't think they liked me being there too much, they seemed to think that since they were his parents they had top priority and since I was just his friend from school I should wait in the hall, but they didn't understand all we had been through together, and no one ever would.

Then he opened his eyes. Slowly at first and like me he didn't really seem to get what had happened. "Youhei!" his mom called as she pulled him into a hug.

"Mom?" he whispered still sounding confused.

It was so hard not to push his mother out of the way and hug him but I managed to wait until his parents had finished their celebration. "Sunohara," I whispered.

His eyes widened to saucers as he jumped out his bed and stood in front of me grinning like a crazy person. "Tomoyo!" he grabbed my hand and pulled me out into the hall, "We need privacy for a second!" he called to his parents as he shut the door.

"If we need privacy, why are we talking in the hall?" I asked, chuckling.

He shrugged and smiled at me. "I said some pretty embarrassing things when I died right?" he asked.

"Nah, it was okay. You just said that you wanted to be my bestest friend forever!"

He blushed and ran his hands through his hair. "Yeah well…"

"But that's okay because I think I want that," I whispered.

He cocked his head, "Huh?"

"I'm okay with being your friend; since I already promised I wouldn't kick you I mine as well become your friend, right?"

"Sounds good," he whispered, blushing, "So what happened after I died?"

"Well um…I died and…" Before I could say anything else I felt someone pulling me into a hug. "It's so good to have you two back in this world! Well not really you, Sunohara, but it's great to see you, Tomoyo!" Misae called as she continued the group hug between the three of us.

"Good to see you to, Misae," I replied.

Sunohara just nodded and smiled at her. "We've all been so worried and your parents were about to take all your stuff back with them and I told them to wait a little longer so they did," she told Sunohara as her eyes began to water a bit. "I don't even know why I'm crying, you're so annoying!" she sobbed.

I smiled, "But he grows on you after awhile."

She nodded, "Yeah, that or you just learn how to put up with him."

We both laughed at Sunohara's expense who surprising joined us after awhile. "Where's Mei?" Sunohara asked Misae.

"You mean you don't know?" Misae asked.

"What?" Sunohara questioned, looking the slightest bit horrified.

"You are the only two who have come back," she whispered.

"Why us…?" I asked feeling tears beginning to build up.

"I'm not sure," Misae replied.

"Because we died," Sunohara whispered.

"Oh…wow, all that time we were trying to survive and find the exit when the exit was to give up on surviving," I whispered back.

"What do you mean you died?" Misae asked, looking a bit frightened.

"We both froze to death, it was…really terrible and I was sure it was real, I was sure I had died! And I was sure that Sunohara had died too! I was sure I'd never see him again!" I whispered as tears down ran down my cheeks.

Misae put her hand firmly on my shoulder, "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

I shook my head, "It's all fine now, now we just need to get the others."

Sunohara nodded, "When should we go?"

"Go where?" Misae asked us.

"Back, of course, back to the other world so that we can tell the others it's okay to die. Otherwise they'll fight death as long as they can and some of them may end up spending the rest of their lives in that retched place!" I yelled.

"Yeah," Sunohara whispered, "I have to go get Mei."

"But won't you have to die all over again?" Misae asked, now looking horrified.

We both nodded, "Yep!"

"NO way would anyone ever let you do that! Tomoyo, go home you can see each other after you've realized that what you're suggesting is completely insane. Sunohara, I know you're worried about your sister but she'd never want to put you through that, they'll figure out how to get out on their own."

"No she'll be too afraid to let herself die! This is something we have to do! This is something we owe them!" Sunohara screamed, "And I'm going back! Tomoyo, I think you should stay here though."

"Are you kidding me? No way. If you're dying, I'm dying," I said with a smile.

He smiled back at me, "You're an idiot."

"You, of all people, have no right to call me that!" I said grinning.

"Well I'm 100% sure that you're both idiots, but still, I'm oddly proud of you," Misae whispered. "But you still need your parents' permission, which I doubt you'll get!"

"My parents will understand, since I'm doing it for Mei after all," Sunohara said.

"Well of course, your parents will probably be glad to have another break from you, but you on the other hand, Tomoyo, your parents probably love you," Misae replied.

"How could you say something so cold hearted!" Sunohara shouted.

"Don't worry; I'll get their permission somehow!" I nodded and waved as I walked out of the dorms and back to my house.

* * *

Takafumi was standing outside waiting for me. "What was that all about? You had me worried."

"Oh, it's fine, I just had to pay a visit to someone, anyway I've realized that I have to go back to where I was, just for a couple more days so will you tell mom and dad for me?" I asked him as I gave him a quick hug and began to walk away.

"Hold on, Tomoyo! You've already been gone for almost three months! I miss you!" he called.

I turned back around, "Three months!" I had no idea. Three months had gone by in that sad and lonely world. It hadn't felt one bit like three months, had I just lost track of time or was time a completely different thing in that world?

He nodded, "Yeah, three months. So why do you need to go back? I thought you'd be happy to see us again. Was it really that fun there that you want to spend the rest of your life living there?"

I laughed, "Fun? Is that what you think this about? Takafumi, freezing to death is not fun. Watching people die that I care about isn't fun."

"What freezing to death? Watching people die? What are you talking about? Why would you want to go back to a place like that!?" he asked as he took a step closer to me.

"It isn't that I want to, honestly I'd much rather stay here with you. I missed you too, I wasn't really sure if I'd ever get to see you again and you have no idea how pleased I am to be home, but there are people who are still there. Trapped living in that terrible world, and since I care about them I need to go back there to help them escape, it's my responsibility," I whispered.

"Then can I go with you?" he asked.

Chills ran down my spine as I imagined watching my brother freeze to death. No way. Watching one person I care about die was enough for a lifetime, plus I'd already have to watch Sunohara die again, and Mei too. "Not a chance," I said as I hugged him again and began to walk away again. "I promise I'll only be gone for a couple of days this time! I love you!" I called.

"Love you too sis!"

* * *

"Sunohara! Are you ready to…?" I paused when I saw that Sunohara was still busy talking to his parents.

"It's okay! I'm used to dying by now!"

What the heck was he telling them?

"Oh no it's fine, really, Mei will get used to it too!"

Seriously?

"No, no, you don't need to come! What? You want to see me die what are you saying?"

I heard laughter and I couldn't help but wonder what kind of parents Sunohara had, well obviously he had to get his idiocy from somewhere.

"Really? Okay thanks! See you soon!" I heard footsteps and soon Sunohara finally saw me.

"What kind of conversation was that?" I asked him.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Never mind, let's just get going." I said leading him out of the dorms.

"Good luck!" Misae called as we left.

"Thanks!" I called back.

Why was everyone acting like we were just going camping? Did no one realize that this was a deadly rescue mission? I glanced at Sunohara who didn't seem to grasp that fact either even though I was sure he must understand the deadly part, yet he still seemed…almost excited about this.

"I hope Mei won't be too mad that I left her," he said.

"Why would she be? It's not like you had a choice, besides I don't know anyone who'd be jealous of what we've went through."

We kept walking until we reached the lab. There was no security check this time, they just let us right in, no questions asked, because they owed us at least that much and they deserved to be sued, big time. "Can I open the door?" Sunohara asked once we reached it.

"Knock yourself out," I mumbled.

He pulled the door open, revealing the bitter frozen winter. We were both wearing about eight layers by now. Once it was time to go back home we'd strip down to just one though…so that we could turn into popsicles just a bit faster. He pulled me through the door and the cold hit us fast. Even under all our layers it still felt extreme. This was quite literally, a suicide mission.

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**Thank you for reading and please review!**


	8. Chapter 8: A Dream

_I woke up with the feeling that this world didn't have much longer. _

_I woke up with the feeling that I didn't have much longer._

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"Mei!" Sunohara whispered as he tapped at her back. "Wake up!" She was asleep when we arrived back at the house, they were all asleep. Mei's cheeks were red and wet and she looked like she'd been crying. Poor girl, I wondered what she was upset about. "Mei!" Sunohara called, now haven given up on whispering. I watched Tomoya sit up and rub at his eyes.

"Sunohara?" he asked.

"Oh! Hey, Tomoya!" Sunohara replied.

"I thought you were dead," Tomoya whispered.

"Not anymore!" Sunohara called which seemed to confuse Tomoya.

"Huh?"

Sunohara ignored Tomoya's confusion and instead began shaking Mei. She finally opened her eyes. "Youhei!?" she asked, looking shocked. "Am I dead now? Is that why you're here?"

Sunohara rolled his eyes, "No! Neither of us our dead."

"What are you talking about? You've been out there for hours of course you're dead, I cried and cried and cried and…"

"Stop it!" Sunohara shouted, "That's ridiculous to just assume something like that!"

"But it's true though," I replied.

"Stop it!" he yelled again, "You'll just make it confusing."

"Why are you wearing so many jackets?" Mei asked as she leaned closer to Sunohara.

"Because it's cold," he replied.

"Yeah, can I have some?" she asked.

"No!" Sunohara yelled.

"Why not?" Mei questioned.

"Just because," Sunohara whispered.

"Okay! Everyone wake up!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. There was a lot of groaning, sighing, and yawning as everyone finally woke up.

"What is it?" Kyou mumbled before looking up and noticing Sunohara and me. "Whoa," she whispered as she slowly stood up and gave me a quick hug and then she turned to Sunohara and shrugged as she gave him an even quicker hug. "Well I am glad that you two are alive, I suppose."

"What do you mean you suppose?" Sunohara shouted.

Kyou smiled and shrugged again, "Well, you know."

"Know what?" Sunohara asked angrily.

"Anyway, Sunohara and I have finally figured out how to get out this world," I told them.

"Really?" Ryou asked, smiling.

I smiled and nodded, "Yes but it isn't an easy way."

"What do you mean?" Kotomi asked.

"In order to get out of here we all have to go out into the snow and freeze to death," I answered.

"Um…Tomoyo, I think the cold might be getting to your head…" Kyou said looking annoyed and freaked out.

"No it's true! Tomoyo and I both died and then we woke up back home! We can do it again…though it isn't really very fun," Sunohara whispered.

"Really?" Kyou asked, "Because I think it sounds like a blast."

"Come on guys, this is a serious matter stop joking around! Nagisa is dying!" Tomoya shouted.

"Yeah we know, and what we're saying is that you should let her," Sunohara replied.

Tomoya stood up slowly and walked towards Sunohara, obviously filled with rage. He punched Sunohara in the cheek and he fell to the floor. "Ow!" he shouted.

"You're lucky I don't break…"

"Calm down Tomoya! Sunohara is just being honest; dying really is the way out of here okay? It's not like he wants Nagisa to die it's just the way things have to be!" I called as I jumped between Tomoya and Sunohara.

Tomoya calmed down a bit but he still looked angry. "So what then, you expect me to just watch her die?" he asked.

"No Tomoya! It isn't real! If she dies she'll just wake up in her bed at her home, safe and sound. If she stays here she could suffer weeks on the brink of death barely hanging onto a life in this terrible world! Is that what you want for her?" I questioned.

"Of course not," he whispered.

"Then we should all go outside so that we can get home as soon as possible," I replied.

"Do you have any proof that we won't really die?" Kotomi asked as she stood up and walked closer to us.

"Yeah, all these coats," I answered.

Kotomi nodded, "Yes, these are surely not of this world."

Kyou grabbed one of my coats and put it on. "Oh it's so warm! I don't think I'll freeze to death if I wear this!"

"That completely defeats the purpose," Sunohara mumbled as he stood up.

"You okay?" I asked him.

"Yeah, I'm obviously used to being beat up," he replied.

"That's true," I said.

"So can we go home now?" Mei asked as she stood up.

She looked like she'd fall over in a second so Sunohara helped support her. "Yeah," he said as he led her outside.

The others reluctantly followed, all except the girl, and Tomoya who still seemed very hesitant. "I don't want to watch her die, even if it's fake," he whispered once Nagisa, him, the girl, and me were the only ones still in the house.

"I understand that, it was terrible to watch Sunohara die, especially since I didn't know it was fake," I replied.

"How can you compare how you felt for Sunohara to how I felt to Nagisa? You don't even like Sunohara," he mumbled.

"That's not true! Not anymore at least…Now we're friends, I guess you could say we've been through a lot together and I care about him," I said blushing.

He looked me in the eyes and nodded as he picked Nagisa up in his arms. "What's going on?" she mumbled.

"We're going outside," he whispered as he walked out into the snow. The girl picked up her robot and left after them.

I followed them and took a seat in the frosty powder next to Sunohara and Mei. "It's really cold out here," Kyou whispered.

"Take the jacket off and you'll see how cold it is," Sunohara replied.

Kyou sighed and took my jacket off. "Um…I think my arms are going to fall off can I put it back on?" she asked.

Sunohara shook his head and Kyou glared at him. Mei rubbed at her arms and Sunohara winced. "It's okay," I whispered as I put my hand on his shoulder.

Twenty minutes of sitting in the freezing cold went by. Twenty minutes of crying and hopelessness. And after twenty minutes things only got worse.

"Nagisa," Tomoya whispered as he bent down next to her. Her lips were blue and she looked just like Sunohara had before he died. I knew that she didn't have much longer left in this world, but I was fairly certain that Tomoya didn't get the _in this world_ part, so he was panicked. "Nagisa," he whispered again. She blinked and shivered and he sighed in relief and worry all bundled up in one. Mei looked pretty bad too. Sunohara was cradling her in his arms like a baby and she was whispering something that I couldn't make out. Kyou, Ryou, and Kotomi, and that mysterious girl all seemed fine still, freezing yes, but not quite on the brink of death yet.

I crawled closer to Tomoya and Nagisa and just watched them. Tomoya was crying and Nagisa was too weak to even talk anymore. "Nagisa," Tomoya would whisper every minute. Eventually his whispering changed to screaming and as I looked down at Nagisa I could tell that she was home. Tomoya burst into tears and Kyou ran to his side trying to comfort him. Ryou and Kotomi started crying too and Kyou couldn't get Tomoya to stop. The girl began crying and holding her robot for dear life as though it was a life raft and she was in the middle of the ocean.

"It's okay," I whispered. He couldn't hear me though; he was lost in his own world. Soon after Nagisa died, Mei became the focus of my attention. She would be next. We were all being picked off one by one and she'd be picked off next. Sunohara was crying, even though he knew that death in this world was really a good thing. Mei was still whispering something and I sat closer to her in an attempt to hear.

"Onii-chan," she whispered, "Don't make me wait long okay?" Sunohara nodded, cried, and nodded some more. Despite the sadness of the moment I smiled. Mei wouldn't have to spend another minute in this sad and lonely world. Her heart stopped. Everyone cried again.

Ryou and Kyou began whispering to each other about something, most likely about how Ryou wasn't fairing well. Ryou's heart stopped too and Kyou followed directly after her sister. Kotomi, the girl, Tomoya, Sunohara, and I were the only ones left. Surrounded by dead bodies of our friends, knowing that we'd soon join them, to an outsider the situation would seem pretty bleak, but to me it just seemed stressful. I wanted to go home; I wanted it to be over, I wanted to be able to see Nagisa, Mei, Kyou, and Ryou again so that I could confirm that they were truly alive and well.

I sat next to Sunohara and watched him cry. As he grew colder and colder I began to realize that I would have to watch him die all over again, and so I cried too. We all cried, waiting, anxiously for it to be our turn to stop crying. "Tomoyo," Sunohara whispered.

"What?" I asked.

"Do you still love Tomoya?" he asked.

The question seemed random and completely inappropriate but yet it made me think, deeply. Did I still love Tomoya? I realized that I hadn't been thinking about him lately, no I was thinking about another boy. I was thinking about Sunohara, I had kissed him after all. "Na," was all I could say.

I felt his breathing stop and I started crying all over again. Kotomi hugged me and Tomoya didn't say a word. He was still crying too. The girl hugged Tomoya as he kept crying and I wondered what that hug meant. Soon we all finally took a break from crying, but when Kotomi's body stopped moving Tomoya and I started crying all over again. We were all freezing, the girl was lying in the snow, unable to move and Tomoya was too. I was sitting upright, but just like them I was pretty much frozen in place. After Kotomi's death, a curious thing happened. The girl began to talk. Of course she had talked before, I'd heard her talk many times, but this time it was different. What she had to say was different.

"I had a dream," she whispered as she lied in the snow, "And in doing so I understood a lot of things." She looked at Tomoya and took a breath. "About me and about you," she continued, "Would you listen?"

Tomoya nodded and starred into her eyes intently. I felt a bit misplaced, like this was a conversation between them and them alone. I should have already been dead. "You and I are connected," she whispered, "And all this time I've been waiting for this robot to wake up," she said as she reached her hand out towards the garbage doll, "While you've been right in front of me."

Tomoya tilted his head, "What do you mean?" he whispered, his voice so faint I doubt she could hear him.

"He and you are one," she whispered, "And you couldn't exist together. You weren't just the reason he was broken, you were him."

"I don't get it," Tomoya whispered.

"You will," she replied as she reached for his hand. He took her hand and continued starring into her eyes. Their eyes held love, but not the love Tomoya felt for Nagisa, no this was a different love. "You will understand when we meet again."

"Meet again? Let's go back together," he whispered to her.

"I'm sorry, but I must remain here," she replied as she let go of his hand.

"Why?" Tomoya asked.

"Because I am this world," the girl said.

"I don't understand," Tomoya repeated.

"If I leave then this world will disappear," the girl replied. "In doing so the lights would fall into despair."

"Lights?" Tomoya questioned. "All those lights that are gathered up?"

"Yes," she answered, "You see, they are the feelings of those in the other world. You too, are one of those lights. One of the farthest yet closest, in that other world. We've always been in that other world. Yes, in the same place." Tomoya looked confused and he opened his mouth to ask something but she cut him off. "Because you exist in both worlds. You passed through the distance known as the 'world' so we could meet. I'm happy enough with that." She took a breath and starred into Tomoya's now frightened eyes. "You will now be closing your consciousness away from this world. And awaken in the other world. Where you'll meet many people and many things will happen. And you and I will meet." she whispered.

"We will?" Tomoya asked her, "In the other world?"

"Just like the lights that you see in this world. My feelings will also manifest as glittering lights in that world. Each one of these lights may be small but if you gather, them," she paused and took a breath, "Surely they should become a mysterious power."

Tomoya turned to look at the distant lights and then he turned back to her as she began humming something. "The Big Dango Family?" he asked.

"Yes, that is the song that you've always sung to me," she whispered back. Lights began shinning through the sky and her eyes opened wide as she was engulfed by the lights. The robot broke apart and Tomoya and I struggled to keep from suffering the same fate. "Farewell," the girl said, still barely visible behind the lights, "Papa," she whispered. The lights engulfed me and soon, just like before, everything went black.

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**I'm not really sure how I feel about this chapter…I don't really like it, mostly all I did was quote the show. Oh well though, I had writer's block and couldn't think of a better way to end it, so forgive me. The next chapter will be the epilogue and hopefully it will be better than this one, though it will be short. Sorry it took me so long to get this posted, like I said I had writer's block and I just started school, so it's been a busy week. **

**Thank you for reading and please review!**


	9. Chapter 9: An Epilogue

I threw an eraser at the back of Sunohara's head and he turned around to tell me to stop but before he could the teacher said, "Sunohara, behave or I'll send you to the principal's office." Sunohara looked like he was going to blow a gasket and I was having problems controlling my laughter. I loved these days. I loved these school days where I could stare at the back of his head instead of the teacher or the blackboard.

I was a senior now, and Nagisa, Tomoya, and Sunohara were all still seniors. Because we were in the other world for so long, and missed so much school they were all held back. Kyou, Ryou, Kotomi, and I weren't held back though, but because those three didn't have the best of grades and had already missed so much school during the year, they were. Sunohara swore that he'd drop out because of this but with a couple of death threats and a bit of praising I was able to get him to keep coming to school.

Now all four of us were in the same class and he sat right in front of me. All that time in the other world hadn't been a total disaster; at least this bit of good had come out of it. The bell rang for lunch and Sunohara ran off towards Tomoya and Nagisa, I followed him and soon the four of us were all sitting outside eating anpan.

Tomoya had told Nagisa and Sunohara all about what the girl had said, but none of us could really figure it out. Especially those last words, _Farewell Papa_, and Nagisa was really stuck on why she had sung the Big Dango Family song. Sunohara swore that the girl must be Tomoya's daughter, because of the papa part, but Tomoya simply pinned that off as Sunohara being an idiot. Although, even though Sunohara is an idiot, just maybe there was some truth to his statement.

"Tomoyo," Sunohara whispered.

"What is it?" I asked him. Sunohara and I had officially become boyfriend and girlfriend. He'd asked me the day after we woke up again in this world and I accepted. He didn't seem to really like it though, he acted awkward whenever I mentioned that we were boyfriend and girlfriend and he hadn't even taken me on a date, unless a trip to the arcade counts in his mind.

"Do you want to go to a movie today?" he asked me, looking nervous.

I smiled. Finally. Here it was, a date! I nodded, "Yeah."

The bell rang to go back to class and I sat behind him waiting for the classes to go by so that I could go on my well deserved date. Finally the bell rang for school to be over and I took his hand and dragged him out of the building at top speed. "What movie are we seeing?" I asked.

Instead of replying he just smirked, "I kind of get the feeling that you like that I have to repeat a year," he said.

I smiled and nodded, "I think you do too."

He rolled his eyes, "Get real, I like you, but I couldn't ever like anyone enough to want to go to school just for them."

I smiled and he smiled back at me. I starred around at the cherry trees, they were in full bloom, and they were beautiful. He leaned closer to me and I felt his soft, warm lips press against mine. This was definitely different then our other kiss. "There," he said with a smile, his cheeks as red as cherries, "Now we've had our first kiss."

I giggled and shook my head, "You really are ignorant aren't you?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" he questioned, looking confused and annoyed.

"We already kissed," I said.

"I don't remember that," he replied.

"That's because you were dead," I whispered.

"What!?" he shouted as he took off running, "You made out with my dead body?! Pervert!" he screamed.

"It wasn't like that! I swear!" I called as I ran down the hill after him, laughing and smiling the whole way. From a terrible experience, something wonderful had been born into my life. I had finally found someone who would love me back. I was happy. I was really, truly happier than I had ever been.

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**Wow, it really is short. But I hope you liked the epilogue. This was really the last chapter of the story, it is over. I'm working on other Clannad stories now, so if you haven't already please check out my other story. **

**Thank you so much for reading this whole thing, it means a lot to me and I appreciate all of your support! Please review this final chapter! Thank you! I hope you liked it! **


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